One-legged kidnap killer Michael Sams, 84, makes fourth bid for freedom after 33 years behind bars

ONE-legged kidnap killer Michael Sams is making his fourth bid for freedom, having spent 33 years locked up. The now 84-year-old kidnapped and killed Julie Dart and abducted Stephanie Slater, with his crimes remaining some of the most shocking in British legal history. One-legged killer and kidnapper Michael Sams is to get a fourth parole hearing and he could potentially be freed later this year Credit: PA Sams snatched teenager Julie Dart in 1991 and kept her in a coffin before beating her to death as she tried to escape Credit: PA He has been referred to the Parole Board and could potentially be released later this year. Considering his age, it could be his last chance at freedom, having spent more than three decades in prison. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! His last parole bid was in 2023 but the authorities turned it down, thinking he was still too dangerous to be released. Sams, from Sutton-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, was handed an extra eight years in jail in 2005 after he attacked a female probation officer with a metal spike. Estate agent Stephanie Slater outside Michael Sams workshop where she was held captive for eight days Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Sams, seen here in 1996, was ordered to spend a minimum of 25 years in prison at his original trial in 1993 Credit: PA:Press Association A probation panel ruled he should not be freed or moved to an open prison, saying the proposed release plan was not “robust enough”. In 1991, Sams snatched the 18-year-old Ms Dart in Leeds. He kept her in a makeshift coffin before bludgeoning and strangling her to death. The following year he abducted and raped Ms Slater, 25, but she was released after a £175,000 ransom was paid. Most read in The Sun Slater was handcuffed, gagged and blindfolded in a locked box which was inside a wheelie bin. A Parole Board spokesperson said: “We can confirm the parole review of Michael Sams has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. “Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. “A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. “Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. “Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing. “It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. “Parole reviews are always undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. “Protecting the public is our number one priority.” Sams was 51 when he was sentenced in 1993 for his horrific crimes and was ordered to spend a minimum of 25 years in prison. Ms Slater, who died of cancer in 2017, had been kept at Sams’ workshop in Newark-upon-Trent. He previously denied killing Ms Dart but confessed to Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Taylor at Full Sutton Prison in East Yorkshire during his sentence. Sams admitted using Ms Dart as a “dummy run” for the kidnapping of Ms Slater, adding he had no intention of letting the younger woman live.